Dublin Independence Day Celebration

The Dublin Independence Day Celebration will start early with a fishing derby and conclude with the smooth sounds of Chicago and the clap of fireworks.

Dublin events administrator Mary Jo DiSalvo said more than 20,000 people typically attend the Independence Day parade, this year themed “Color My World . . . Red, White and Blue.”

Many parade-goers are expected to stick around for a trio of evening acts at Coffman Stadium. The first band, the Emerald City Swing Orchestra, will perform at 5 p.m.

Wooster native Josh Krajcik, a blues-rock talent and X Factor runner-up, will take the stage at 6:30, before the headlining classic-rock group leads the audience into Dublin’s fireworks finale.

Chicago is the latest to fit the celebration’s bill of “upbeat family fun,” DiSalvo said. Previous performers include Smokey Robinson, Kenny Loggins and Rick Springfield.

“Chicago, everybody knows,” she said. “They’re cross-generational.”

COSI Messy Science Day

333 W. Broad St.

Contact: 614-228-2674, www.cosi.org

Time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Admission: $17.95, or $16.95 for senior citizens and $12.95 for children, free for members; demonstration of how fireworks are made: $5

The west plaza at COSI Columbus will be packed with everything from human-sized bubbles to squishy worms as children delight in the museum’s annual Messy Science Day.

Children can sink their hands (and feet) in “oobleck” — a slimy substance that acts as both a liquid and solid — and test the properties of water.

The best part? The mess doesn’t follow them to the rest of their Independence Day activities.

“You can come out and try all of these experiments, and we clean it all up for you,” said Jaclyn Reynolds, a COSI spokeswoman.

Youngsters can also learn about how fireworks are made, complete with a set of 3-D glasses that bring the demonstration to life.

And to end the holiday occasion on a sweet note, children can make their own liquid-nitrogen ice cream: good, simple vanilla.

Glorious Fourth

Ohio Village, I-71 and E. 17th Avenue

Contact: 614-297-2300, www.ohiohistory.org

Time: noon to 5 p.m.

Admission: $12, or $9 for ages 6 to 12

Families can step into the 19th century, an era in which parades, concerts and friendly competition were the common means of Fourth of July fun.

Highlighted by the Grand Procession, in which Civil War soldiers, singers, “base ball” players and the like gather on the streets of the Ohio Village, the Glorious Fourth gives families a glimpse of life in 1863.

Mike Follin, coordinator of interpretive services for the Ohio Historical Society, assumes the role of “mayor” for the Glorious Fourth. During the 1860s, he said, Independence Day was rivaled only by Election Day in terms of patriotic celebrations.

His goal is to capture that feeling, starting with costumes and songs.

“They were (all) draped in some kind of sentiment,” he said.

Visitors can get a taste of the past before they leave by discussing nuggets of information learned from the interpreters or by whistling a 19th-century tune.

Or, if that’s not their flavor, they can indulge in a spoonful of hand-cranked ice cream or take part in a pie-eating contest.Mmm.

Doo Dah Parade

Park Street between Buttles Avenue and Goodale Street heading north

Contact: 614-228-0621, www.doodahparade.com

Time: 1 to 3 p.m.

Admission: free

The Doo Dah Parade has been a Short North Independence Day staple for 29 years, packing the streets for a celebration of all things quirky.

This year, parade organizers are taking the silliness one step further and “shaking” things up.

“We’re not in Harlem, we’re in the Short North — but there might be some Short North shaking going on,” said organizer Deb Roberts, in reference to Internet dance sensation the “Harlem Shake.”

The flash-mob-style dance will be a first for the parade, which Roberts said might also feature construction workers riding on scissor lifts.

And, true to the nature of the parade, those wishing to march needn’t sign up beforehand.

An accompanying block party, complete with six bands, will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

And, if you’re a politician, you’d better wear a funny hat — because, as Roberts puts it, “We don’t want to have this turn into some political brouhaha.”

Speak Easy: Freedom and Stories for All

2491 Summit St.

Contact: 614-859-9453, www.speakeasycbus.com

Time: 7 to 10 p.m.

Admission: $5

On the first Thursday of every month, many of the 80 people gathered at Wild Goose Creative hope for a chance to exercise their right to free speech.

Despite the holiday, a range of amateur yarn-spinners will gather for a “Speak Easy” storytelling event.

Visitors can apply to speak by writing their names on slips of paper, and those selected typically talk for about 10 minutes in an open-stage format that touts free-form storytelling.

“It’s not competitive, not professional; it’s just a place to share your story with a community,” said Grace DerMott, creative facility administrator for Wild Goose Creative.

There’s no set theme for tonight’s Speak Easy, DerMott said, so the audience should experience a grab bag of topics.

“It can range from tear-jerker to rolling on the floor (laughing),” she said. “It’s really hard to anticipate — even when there is a theme — what people are going to talk about.”